New Mutant Reunion
by Ethiercn
Summary: Sequel to Hellfire. Sam's friends return for a visit. Cannonball/Firestar with some Cannonball/Boomer, Rictor/Boomer. Some hints at Dark Phoenix.
1. Chapter 1

Title: New Mutant Reunion Part 1

Author: Ethiercn

Rating: T

Characters Used: Firestar, Cannonball, Sunspot, and Boomer (Meltdown). Mention of Husk.

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters. I am making no profit.

Author's Note: Story is set in the X-Men movie universe and takes place a month after "Hellfire" (found in the files section). Ajax, a football (soccer) club (team) plays out of Amsterdam. The correct pronunciation, which is how Angel says it, is I-Ax. _The Noble Dead _series is by Barb and J. C. Hendee.

Looking up from his book, Sam stared at the airport gate, daring it to produce people. Roberto's plane had arrived ages ago, he thought. Maybe there was some problem with the luggage. He hoped customs hadn't decided to search all of 'Berto's bags; if so, they would be here for hours.

He went back to reading _Thud!_. He was more of a straight sci-fi man, but Angel was right; he did like Commander Vimes. While he made his way though Discworld, Angel made her way though his Iain M. Banks. It was nice to talk books with someone. Despite his enjoyment of the story, Sam was tired of the airport. He had dropped some students off for the start of their school break and then had come to this terminal to wait for 'Berto. At this rate, he would finish the book before getting back to the mansion.

Finally, he thought as people began to trickle out though the gate. He scanned the crowd looking for his friend.

"Sam!!" someone shouted just before a buxom blonde threw herself at him. She hugged him tightly and pressed her body against his. He was too surprised to do anything. He looked over her head at Roberto DaCosta who shrugged apologetically as he walked though the gate.

"Be back in a sec," Tabitha said letting go of Sam. "Have to run to the ladies'."

"Sorry bro," Berto said as he came up pushing a luggage cart. "Ran into her in Rio. Didn't seem right to leave her. I would've called, but it was sudden." The two man clasped hands. The good looking Brazilian glance around, "Where's this new girl of yours?"

"She had a meeting with the publishing house she works for," Sam replied. He frowned in the direction of the ladies' room. It was strange to see Tabitha again. The last of the anger had faded with Angel coming into his life, and now he felt indifferent to his ex. "Where's Ric?"

'Berto shook his head, "She didn't say. Didn't say much really, which as we all know is unusual. The only thing she would say is that she wanted to come back and that she made a mistake. Something happened, for she didn't have money for a plane ticket. But she isn't talking." He looked at his watch. "How long is she going to take?"

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?"

"Just want to see if your girl is as flaming hot as you say."

A smile tugged at Sam's lips, "She is. I see that you realized your models wouldn't be able to compete."

"One has a shoot in Miami. The other has a shoot in Milan," 'Berto quickly retorted.

"Uh-huh."

"I'm back!" Tabitha announced as she appeared, throwing an arm around each of the men. "Let's go."

His feet propped on one chair, Sam sat on another in the common room as he graded the papers. So far most of the papers had been lack luster due to too much bad padding. He was going to have to hand out copies of "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words" when the students returned. He should have gone into the sciences like Jean, he thought. Then he could use a Scan-Tron to grade. His fell on the remaining stack, and he sighed. At least, Paige hadn't tried to kill Tabitha yet. Of course, Paige could just be planning something. The curl on his younger sister's lip upon seeing Tabitha again hadn't been pretty.

He was aware of Angel entering the room before she came up behind him. She put her arms around his neck, leaned down, and kissed his cheek. Her long red hair tickled his neck. "In my opinion, humble as it is, _The Scarlet Letter_ is a book about adultery, which is when a person has an affair," she read out. "Surely Bobby knows better than that."

Putting down the paper, he reached up and entwined his hands with hers. He loved the fact that her hands were never cold. She never felt cold. All he had to do was touch her and he felt warmer. He wondered if it was an aspect of her mutant power or something only he felt. "Ah hope so," he replied. "Didn't he and Rouge get into a fight last night?"

She nodded, "Where's your friend?"

"Unpacking. He packs like a girl." He grabbed her hand when she tried to swat him and pulled her laughing into his lap. "How was your meeting?"

"They want me to illustrate a new edition of answer of Andersen that they have in the works," she said with justifiable pride, throwing one arm around his neck and making herself comfortable.

He tightened his hold on her, "Congratulations. We'll go out and celebrate," he finished with a kiss.

"Tomorrow," she replied smiling against his lips, her hand teasing the hair at the nape of his neck, "Don't you men have some welcome back ceremony to perform? A weird, no women allowed bonding ritual? Perhaps involving alcohol and chest thumping?"

"Who's to say we didn't do it on the way back from the airport?" he nuzzled at her neck.

"And it would be my pleasure if you accompanied us to dinner," a new voice added.

Angel looked over Sam's shoulder and saw a tall, dark, good looking man entering the room. He was boarder in the shoulders than Sam, a little shorter as well. With one arm across her lap, still holding her in place, Sam introduced them, "Angelica Jones met Roberto DaCosta."

"'Delighted to met you. You can call me 'Berto," Roberto said taking her hand and pressing it to his lips. "I might just have to spend more time in your part of Kentucky if girls like this show up there," he said to Sam.

"You're right," Angel said with a glance at Sam, "he's smooth."

"I guarantee you, everything he told you is true," 'Berto said with a charming smile before flopping into a chair. "We'll go out when Sam is finished grading those papers." He smiled mischievously.

Sam groaned. "Either of you is more than welcome to help."

'Berto shook his head and reached for the television remote, "Unlike some I was smart enough to be a business major. And the Champions League is on," he finished, his voice becoming more business like.

Sam cocked an eyebrow at Angel.

"Don't look at me," She laughed. "I should start on the Andersen bios I picked up on the bookstore."

"Did you at least get me anything?" Sam asked as she reached for the bag she had rested against the side of his chair.

"Actually, yes. For some reason it just screamed you," she handed him a book as she reluctantly got off his lap.

Sam took the book from her. It was small, the kind of book that was more pictures than text, _Down Cut Shin Creek_ about the pack horse librarians in Kentucky during the Great Depression. He smiled. 'Berto gave an approving nod; at least the new girl cared about his friend.

"And I picked up the new book in the _Noble Dead_ series, but you'll have to wait until I'm finished that one," Angel added as she sat nearby. She pulled out a book, notebook, and pen from her bag. "Are you rooting for Arsenal or Ajax?" she asked Roberto as the match came on.

"Finally an American who knows how to pronounce Ajax correctly," Roberto said with real pleasure in his voice. "If you ever deicide to leave Sam, I'm yours at a drop of a hat."

"Hey!" Sam said with mock anger as he picked up Bobby's paper. "You already have two. Don't be greedy."

"Don't worry," Angel said with a look at her boyfriend, "Your accent's sexier."

"Ah always thought so," Sam crossed out another line on Bobby's essay.

She looked back at 'Berto, "Two?"

A few minutes into the match, a whirlwind entered the room. "Whacha doing Mason-Dixon?" she said as she plopped down next to Sam on the arm of the chair.

Mason-Dixon? Angel studied the newcomer. Blonde, buxom, pretty, energetic. What was more interesting, and a little stranger, was the expression on both of the men. Berto's lips had compressed into a thin line, almost one of distaste. Sam had gone tense, his face unreadable, but his hands had tightened on the pen and the paper he was holding, a sure sign that at the very least he wasn't comfortable. "Angel," he said. "This Tabitha, she went here to."

"Hello," Angel said studying the woman, trying to figure out what exactly she was missing.

Tabitha looked over at her, "Charmed," she said dismissively before trying her attention back to Sam who was trying to get back to his papers.

Was she an ex, Angel wondered watching the woman brush up against Sam who, to be fair, didn't look too happy at the attention. He moved away as far as he could without appearing too rude. With a sigh, Tabitha draped herself against the back of his chair and looked over his shoulder. Was she just pushy? Angel resisted the sudden intense dislike she felt for the other woman and tried to focus on her book. 'Berto caught her eye, mouthed the word 'later' and offered what seemed to be an encouraging smile, "You do like the Brazilian national team don't you?"

Before she could reply, Tabitha spoke up, "What are we doing for dinner?"


	2. Chapter 2

Title: New Mutant Reunion Part 2

Title: New Mutant Reunion Part 2

Author: Ethiercn

Rating: T

Characters used: Firestar, Cannonball, Sunspot, Boomer (Meltdown), Selene, Rogue, Marvel Boy (Justice), and mention of various others.

Disclaimer: I don't own them. I am making no profit off of them.

Author's note: Starts after Part 1, but later in the day. Beef was injured by Angel in "Hellfire". The art exhibit mentioned below does actually exist.

"You were quiet tonight," Sam said as he took off his shoes.

"It was hard to get a word in edgewise," Angel replied as she took off her necklace and put it safety away so Pumpkin would not play with it. Dinner had been at a fancy restaurant where she had listened to tales about Sam, 'Berto, and Tabitha's school days. They and another student, Rictor, had been quite the foursome. It had made her a bit wistful for what she had missed during her years with Frost and made her wonder how different things could have been. "'Berto's stories were funny," she finished with a smile.

"You shouldn't believe everything he says about me," Sam said a bit ruefully as he began to unbutton his shirt.

"So that story about the two of you using your powers to get into Scott's room and . . "

"Embellished quite a bit if 'Berto told it," Sam interrupted with a fond smile. "When did he tell you that?"

"When Tabitha pulled you out onto the dance floor. Is she always so clingy?" The question slipped out before Angel could stop it. While Angel wanted to like Sam's friends, she had spent the whole evening watching the blonde hang on to Sam, or Mason-Dixon as Tabitha called him. Tabitha had to walk into the restaurant on Sam's arm, had to dance with Sam, had to sit next to Sam, had to brush her thigh up against Sam. The only thing that had made it tolerable had been 'Berto's constant stories. If she was ever that clingy, Angel thought, she hoped Jupiter would shot her. She reached up to remove the clasp from her hair.

But Sam's fingers were already there, removing the clasp and running though her locks before his hands circled around her waist and pulled her close to him. "She's my ex," he said softly, his eyes watching her reflection in the mirror. "We were together after we graduated, starting in college, until just over a year ago." Her face was impassive, but she was listening. He could understand; he wouldn't have been happy if an ex of hers showed up and hung all over her. "We broke up after Ah found her in bed with Rictor."

"She was an idiot," Angel said softly, resting her head on his chest.

"It's nice to know you think so" Sam kissed her shoulder. "Ah don't know what she's doing here. But 'Berto and Ah want to know."

"Can't Ororo ask her?"

"They were friends but not friendly, if you know what I mean. Tabitha always got along better with us men for some reason." Something he hadn't realized until today. "Be patient. It's just until we find out what happened."

She sighed, "So I'm your rebound girl?"

"My girl, yes. Rebound, no." One of his hands moved to cup a breast. His lips brushed her check. His thumb teased her nipple. She drew in a breath and moved against him. "Let me show exactly what you are," he whispered as his lips moved to her neck, one hand working on the fastenings of her dress.

Vance Astrovik sat across the desk from Selene. It was only his second day of having full use of his jaw back. He had forgotten how nice it was to chew food as opposed to getting nourishment from liquids. The Kentucky hick was going to pay for that, Vance thought with a good deal of malice.

"Our agent is in," Selene said as she took a sip from her drink. "How is your new recruit?"

Vance frowned, "Rash, almost reckless. He's not stupid, not like Bevatron, but a bit conceited. He was trained well, though. Have to say that about Xavier. He's also a little smarter than Beef."

"Good. Until we can come up with a way to compensate for Beef's lack of sight or those new students graduate, we will have to make do."

Vance shifted in his seat, "I do not think using this agent is a good idea."

Selene studied him with her dark eyes, "The X-Men are a legitimate threat and despite our new formed alliance with Magneto and the addition of those young mutants he brought with him, it is to our benefit to know what they are doing and to eliminate them if possible."

"Frost is planning something," he supplied. Roulette was sacred of him and would tell him whatever he wanted to know without too much prodding, though she hadn't been able to give him much detail.

Always two steps ahead of him, Selene replied, "The White Queen is always planning something. But in this case, I know what it is and am content to let it go forward. Considering Firestar's ability to affect Empath's power, I think bringing her back into the fold is the correct way to go. However," she finished with a significant look at Vance as she refilled her wine glass, "Frost cannot have control of her. But that should be easy to stop considering how weak Frost has been since her fight with Jean Grey."

"In that, we are in total agreement," Vance said knowing that Selene would forgive him his presumption in this case. "And if Worthington's people discover this "cure"?"

"We use it to our advantage."

Angel sat on the table in the mansion's kitchen, the morning paper spread out in front of her The good thing about the lack of students and staff was she could hog as much of the kitchen table as she wanted. Scott and Jean were visiting Jean's parents; Professor Xavier was in Scotland visiting a friend, a mutant expert; Beast would be back from Washington tomorrow in time for a conference call about Rogue's problem with her powers; Ororo and Kurt were spending sometime away and would be back the day after tomorrow; and Logan had left on Scott's bike for somewhere, though he was in contact.

A very loud yawn heralded the arrival of Tabitha, who walked into the kitchen wearing a pair of very short shorts and too tight tank top. Angel had trouble believing the other woman actually slept in that attire just like she couldn't believe that the make-up was left over from yesterday. Angel didn't like the other woman. Over the past two days Tabitha seemed to be constantly present. Always around, always pushing in. Dressed in a bikini, she had even knocked on their door late last night to ask where the spare towels where. Angel wished she could ask Ororo if this was normal behavior for Tabitha or whether she was right in thinking that Tabitha was making a play for Sam. It was hard to be sure, and when asked, Paige's comments about Tabitha suggested that her older brother didn't know the extent of his sister's vocabulary.

Tabitha poured herself a cup of coffee and added some cream. She took a seat at the other end of the table and stared out the window. "How long have you and Sam been seeing each other?" she asked quietly after a few minutes.

"About eight months," Angel replied. Perhaps she had misjudged the other woman. Perhaps Tabitha just needed reassurance and comfort after a bad break-up with this Rictor. Maybe, she should tell Tabitha that the cream . . .

"No where near as long as the time Sam and I were together," Tabitha mused out aloud, sounding very pleased and very smug.

Nope, she was just a bitch; Angel thought and kept her mouth shut about the cream.

"I never knew that Sam had a thing for red heads," Tabitha continued, "I always thought he preferred blondes."

"Is that why you dye your hair?" Angel asked innocently. She wouldn't blast the other woman, but she wasn't going to be a doormat. She turned the page on the paper, "Perhaps you don't know Sam as well as you thought."

"We didn't talk much. Busy doing other things," Tabitha gave Angel a look.

"Like picking out the dye for your hair?"

Tabitha leaned back in her chair, "We would go at it all night, if you know what I mean." The blonde took a swig from her cup and then looked at it strangely.

"The cream has gone bad," Angel supplied, deciding that a puking Tabitha waking her up at night would not a be a good thing. "I'm surprised you didn't notice before. Perhaps too much peroxide. And it is only convincing if you dye the eyebrows."

Tabitha shot her look and got up to look at the cream. She made a sound of disgust and poured her coffee down the sink. She rinsed out the mug, "Sam and I go way back."

"Yet, he doesn't talk about you much. You couldn't have been that memorable," Angel replied still looking at the paper.

She was saved Tabitha's response by the arrival of Sam and 'Berto. "Good morning," Tabitha said quickly, and with a significant look at Angel, she passed the cup of coffee she had jut poured to Sam.

""Morning. Thanks," Sam said as he took the cup of coffee and going to sat next to Angel. He kissed her cheek, stole a piece of toast from her plate, and looked over the paper.

Roberto stood before Tabitha with his hand out. "What?" Tabitha said, trying to look at Sam and Angel who were laughing at something while she poured another cup of coffee.

"Don't I get a cup?"

About to tell Roberto to get his own damn coffee, Tabitha changed her mind when she saw Sam glance their way. With a smile, she handed the Brazilian the mug.

"Thank you, "Roberto said moving to the table where Angel passed him a piece of toast. "Morning, Red."

"Morning, 'Berto. Get enough beauty rest?" Angel said with a smile.

"Someone's been telling stories."

"That would be Paige," Sam said, one arm across the back of Angel's chair. "Do you want to go to that?" he finished, addressing Angel and pointing at something in the paper.

"Go to what, Mason Dixon?" Tabitha asked coming over to the other three mutants.

"_Once Upon A Time Walt Disney_. It's about the sources for Disney's artwork," Sam said in a tone that implied that Tabitha would not be interested in it at all. Though there were only a few students on campus, an adult should be present. He looked at 'Berto, "Can you," he started to say.

"Wonderful," Tabitha interrupted. "We can all go, the kids even. A field trip."

"Field trip?" Paige asked coming into the kitchen, sliding across the room in her bunny slippers. Good, she thought, she could spend some time with Warren.

A few hours later, Angel studied the Gustave Dore engraving of "Sleeping Beauty" and looked over at the production background from the Disney movie. She could see the influence though she preferred the level of detail in Dore's engraving. Rogue stood next to her staring off into space. Angel was worried about the girl. After Frost's manipulations, Angel could understand, to a degree, Rogue's despair at not being able to touch anyone. Additionally, no one knew what the fight between Rogue and Bobby had been over, but it might have something to do with Kitty and Bobby ice skating on the fountain. Angel gently touched the girl on the shoulder, "Tomorrow won't come any faster if you stew over it."Rogue offered her a smile, "It's just the waiting. They might have found something after all those tests."

"I know."

"But then, what if they haven't found anything. I don't want to be like this forever. Maybe that cure Warren's dad is working on. But the others say that it's wrong."

"You'll cross that bridge when you get there. And what would Logan say about the others?"

"He would tell them to shove it up their ass," Rogue replied quickly. "He would say it's my choice," the young mutant's voice became less depressed. "I'm going to watch the movie they got playing," she finished moving to the theatre in the other room where the exhibit was showing the Disney and Dali short.

"That kid has it tough," Roberto said coming over. "Now, personally, I was never one for art, but I do enjoy watching Sam play the protective big brother." He nodded his head to where Sam stared at Warren and Paige who were holding hands as they walked though the exhibit. Angel smiled at the sight and then frowned slightly when Tabitha went over to Sam. Paige turned and glared at the woman.

"She's changed," 'Berto said softly watching his two friends. "Something's off. She was never quite like this before."

"What was she like?" Angel asked, wanting to know more about Sam's former relationship and how deep it had actually went.

"Not as pushy. Jealous, but she didn't," 'Berto took a breath and was about to say something more when his phone went off. He pulled out and looked at the number. "Back in a sec. It's one of my models." He walked off, phone to his ear, and a smile on his face.

As Angel turned back to look at the illustrations, her eyes flicked over the people at the far end of the room. She stopped and stared. She thought she saw. But it couldn't be. She scanned the small group of people. There, in the back. The man, the light brown hair, the build, the face older, but otherwise the same. But Randall had died in her arms. A pit of cold formed in her stomach. The man turned and moved off. She started to follow him.

"Angel," Sam's voice stopped her. "Trying to leave me alone with everyone?" he teased as he lightly touched her arm.

She didn't answer; her eyes fixed on where the man had disappeared into the tour group that was leaving.

"Sam," Tabitha called. "Look at this!"

"Are you okay?" Sam asked quietly, ignoring Tabitha's call.

Angel nodded. "I thought I saw someone I knew, but it wasn't." It couldn't be, she told herself. It had to be a quasi look alike.

Sam frowned at her, "You sure?" His eyes scanned the room. They had been pretty sure that Hellfire wasn't going to try anything after what Jean had done to the White Queen, but anything was possible.

"Yes," she put her arm around his waist and moved closer to shelter in his strength as they turned to a painting on the wall.

"Sam!!" Tabitha's voice was loud and incessant now.

Sam winced and put an arm around Angel's waist. He would ask her again later, he thought, when they were alone. Something had bothered her. "Let's go see what she wants."

Angel looked over her shoulder and scanned the crowd one last time as they walked over.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: New Mutant Reunion Part 3

Characters: Firestar, Cannonball, Meltdown (Boomer), Sunspot, Marvel Boy, Rictor, and whoever else pops in.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, Marvel does. I am not making any profit.

Rating: T

Author's Note: Takes part after part 2, later the same day. I never really read _New Mutants_ so I'm sorry if I got Sam's reaction to the discovery of his powers wrong. Jay's description of his music as his gift also comes from _New Mutants_, I think (I know someone mentioned it in a letter in _X-Force_).

"Ease up," Roberto said to Sam as the two men watched the football game, "We were Warren's age once."

"That's the problem. Don't you remember what the two of us did?" Sam countered, his eyes meeting Angel's as she cast him an amused glance from her place at the common room table before she looked back at her work. For a moment, Sam's blue eyes grew troubled. She usually worked outside or in her studio; whatever she had seen at museum had spooked her.

Roberto paused, soda can raised to his lips, "Yeah, okay. Maybe, just maybe you have a point, but you don't have to glare at him all the time. It didn't work with us, if you remember."

"So you're saying Ah have to think of something better?"

Roberto exchanged a glance with Angel who smiled and shook her head. She had already had this conversation with Sam. "No, I'm not. I'm saying don't sound like you're fifty," Roberto began and then got distracted by a play.

Angel went back to studying the picture of Edvard Collin, Andersen's longtime acquaintance, friend, man crush, and agent. The biographers seem to have trouble deciding on the exact nature of the relationship. She was working on drawings for "The Ugly Duckling," and according to what she had read, the cat in story was supposed to be Collin. She studied Pumpkin who lay on Sam's lap, watching the football players on the television screen as if they were mice. How to make a cat have hints of the man, she thought with a frown. Working kept her mind off the memories of Randall that had resurfaced after seeing his doppelganger at the museum, and the sound of the game and conversation of Roberto and Sam offered a comforting normalcy. She began to work.

The sound of Sam's phone going off interrupted her some time later.

"Hey Ma," Sam said as an angry Pumpkin got off his lap and moved to an empty chair. "Is everything . . . .. . What? Slow down!"

Roberto stopped watching the game and Angel put down her pencil. Both of them focused on Sam.

"Did he say why?" Sam said into the phone as he walked over to the bay window. "How did you find out?"

Roberto and Angel exchanged a look. "Drugs?" Berto mouthed at Angel. She shrugged in response. She had no idea what was going on.

"Do you want me to come down and get him? No, okay I'll arrange the tickets and then call you back with the information." He listened for a minute, "They'll both fine. Yes, I'll lay off Warren a little. Love you." Clearly upset, he hung up the phone and took a seat next to Angel. She put a hand on his shoulder, and he reached up and lightly squeezed her fingers. "Ma said that Jay has mutant powers, and he was trying to hide them," Sam shook his head, "Ah don't understand." He glanced first at Angel and then at Roberto, "Why would he hide it? What was that fool boy thinking?" He didn't give them a chance to respond, "Ah need to get tickets and figure out where to put him. Ah need to tell Paige."

"I can help with the plane tickets," 'Berto supplied.

"What's going on?" Tabitha asked as she came into the room, her hair still wet from her shower,"I hear it's your night to cook, Mason Dixon. What's for dinner?"

Didn't that bimbo think of anyone besides herself, Angel thought with a sudden urge of hate and anger. Couldn't she see that Sam was clearly upset? Angel got up and moved quickly across the room, "Why don't we see what we can throw together?" She reached Tabitha and pulled the other woman out of the common room and towards the kitchen.

Halfway to the kitchen, Tabitha yanked her arm out Angel's grasp, "What do you think you're doing, you jealous bitch?" the blonde hissed.

With a supreme effort of will, Angel did not indulge in the urge to slap her. No matter how much Tabitha deserved a good smack, Sam didn't need a cat fight on his hands. "In case, you haven't noticed, Sam's upset. Stop thinking of yourself and try to be helpful, you stupid bimbo."

Something like worry crossed over Tabitha's face, "I didn't notice," she murmured before turning to go back to the common room.

Angel stopped her, "He doesn't need you there."

Tabitha's attitude came back, "What would you know about it? Just because he doesn't want you," she made to push her way past Angel.

Angel wasn't about to let her go. Using a trick of Wolverine's, she grabbed the other woman's arm, spun her, and pushed her against the wall.

"Let me go or I'll . . ." Tabitha stopped when she noticed that Angel's eyes were glowing.

"Listen, you slut," Angel said, allowing her hands to heat up just a little so Tabitha would get the message. "Sam doesn't need you crawling all over him. If you want to help, help me get dinner, if you can do more than boil water. If you can't, just sit still and chew your gum." Eyes still glowing, Angel let go of Tabitha and stared at her.

For a moment it looked like Tabitha was about to argue, but then she headed for the kitchen.

Late that night, Angel returned to the suite that she shared with Sam. It wasn't really a suite but simply two connected rooms, one in which they usually slept and the second, her former bedroom, that functioned as an office and work space. Sam was in the bedroom, sitting on the window seat. His head leaned against the window, and his eyes were closed. Angel put down the food she had brought up, for Sam had barely touched dinner, and studied him with a worried frown on her face. Something about Jay's keeping his power secret had deeply disturbed and violated Sam's peace of mind. He was happy if those around him were safe and sound; Jay's behavior suggested that everything was not well. Paige, on the other hand, had been far less upset.

Angel picked up a blanket and went over to Sam. As she was about to put the blanket over him, he reached up and grasped her hand. "I'm awake. Sit with me," he said quietly. She nestled herself between his legs, resting her hand on his chest as he put the blanket over both of them. For awhile they just sat there, looking out the window at the stars. Suddenly, Sam spoke, "That night, at the property, just before Stryker's men attacked, you were going to tell me that you were a mutant, right?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Why?" his voice had that tone it got when he was trying to figure something out.

She shifted slightly, "I had reached the conclusion that I couldn't' hide. That I had to do something. After the attack on the president, I planned to contact Hank, and I felt I had to tell you what I was before I did that. I was sacred of what your reaction was going to be."

He chewed his lip, "And when you first found out and told your father?"

"That was different, much different. I was frightened. Terrified. There was no one else to tell. If Nana had been alive, I would have told her, not Dad. But she wasn't."

"It was different for me," she could hear the smile in his voice. "It was wonderful. Awesome. It never occurred to me that anyone would really feel differently, especially in my family. It's a gift. I don't understand why Jay would hide it. He's not the first mutant in the family, and Ma doesn't care."

"Maybe that was it," Angel said softly. Jay was the quiet Guthrie, not as out going as Melody or as forthright as Paige. A talented musician, he and Angel once had a conversation about artistic inspiration, and he had described his talent as his gift as opposed to Sam and Paige's.

"What do you mean?"

"His music is what makes him different from you and Paige, something that neither of you did. And being a mutant makes him like the both of you. It must feel like he's . . ."

"Following in our footsteps and not making his own path," Sam finished. "Maybe that's it."

"And you have to throw in that Guthrie responsibility your clan has, he might not want to leave the others."

She both felt and heard Sam's chuckle, "True."

"Do you want me to come with you tomorrow?" she asked as she felt some of the tension leave his body.

"Want, yes. But I think it will better if it's just Paige and me. I thought maybe I should put him in Warren's rooms considering they both have wings, but then I put him in Marcus. Jay will have music in common with him." A telekinetic, Marcus played both the piano and violin.

Angel closed her eyes. She was tired; Tabitha had not bee much help in the kitchen. "I think that was a good idea."

Sam watched the sun rise. He hadn't really slept over the night, but it had been comforting to stay on the window seat with Angel in his arms and feeling her sleep. Jay's secret had been a painful reminder that sometimes things weren't always as smooth as they appeared to be and made Sam worry that his mother's illness had taken a larger toll on the family than he had first thought. He stretched a little, trying not to disturb Angel as he did so, and then reached down and brushed a few stray strands of hair off her face. His eyes flicked over to the clock. He would have to get up soon. He had make sure the room was okay, call the Professor, figure out Jay's course schedule and a hundred other things before he left for the airport.

Angel stirred and opened her eyes. "Did you at least get some sleep?" she asked as she sat up and turned slightly to look at him.

"Some," he replied, kissing her lightly on the lips. "I need to do some things before I go to the airport, " he began.

"You need," she interrupted. "To take a shower and have something to eat before you do anything." She got off the window seat, pulled him up, and shoved him in the direction of the bathroom. "Shower while I get you breakfast."

"You're being bossy," he teased, starting to feel a bit better.

With a smile, she shoved him once more and left for the kitchen.

Hovering above the floor of the training room, Marvel Boy tried to control his temper. Rictor, the new recruit, was good but as Marvel Boy had told Selene, too damm cocky. He watched as Rictor used his vibrations to knock down Feral before turning them on Air Breaker.

"Take down Shaky Man?" Catseye asked.

Marvel Boy nodded. It was time to teach Rictor a very important lesson.

"Come on! Is that all you got?" Rictor smirked.

He was so going to enjoy this, Marvel Boy thought, as he shielded Catseye and tossed her at Rictor. Rictor's vibrations had no effect and the cat mutant easily slammed into him, claws stopping an inch from his throat. "Win!" Catseye growled.

"There is always someone more powerful," Marvel Boy said not calling Catseye off, though from Rictor's expression it was something that he desired would happen.

"So you say," Rictor replied.

The intercom buzzed. "Marvel Boy, report to Selene's off."

"Like a good pet dog," Rictor muttered low enough so only Catseye could hear him. She growled but couldn't disagree.

When Marvel Boy arrived at Selene's office, he found his boss in a pensive mood.

"Our agent has reported in. Apparently Samuel Guthrie's younger brother has developed mutant powers, wings. This means that three of the Guthrie children have developed powers when they hit puberty," Selene said. Normally she preffered her people to shower when coming from the training room, but Marvel Boy had to know this information know so he could plan effectively.

"Strong genes," Marvel replied taking a long pull from his water bottle. "Do you want us to take the mother?"

Why did the fool have to think of women first all the time, Selene thought. It was a failing. "Not yet. The father is dead, if both parents were still alive, yes, but with only half, no. It would be better to take one of the children, one of the children who have developed their powers perhaps."

"One the children?" Marvel Boy asked, making sure that he had heard correctly.

"That's what I said," Selene grinned. "Your choice. Alive or dead. I would prefer alive, but genetic studies can be done on the dead."


	4. Chapter 4

Title: New Mutant Reunion Part 4

Author: Ethiercn

Rating: M

Characters used: Firestar, Cannonball, Boomer (Meltdown), Cyclops, Jean Grey, mention of others.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, and I am making no profit.

Author's Note: Takes place a couple days after Part 3. And with a small nod to Myth.

"Okay. Let's see what happens," Cyclops spoke into the Danger Room's intercom. He hit the record button on the console and leaned over to study the readings on the computer and to keep one eye on what happened below. If they could reliably use Firestar's powers to affect psionics in the field then they could change their battle techniques.

Jean stood in the center of the Danger Room, using her telekinetic shield to block Firestar's microwave blasts. The purpose of the training session was to simply see at what point, if any, Firestar's powers could affect Jean's. Neither Jean, due to the events of Alkali Lake, or Firestar, who was positive her success in her confrontation with Frost had been due to the witch being off balance, were sure anything was going to happen.

Strange, Jean thought after a few minutes, her shields still held, but it felt like she was pushing the power though a thin layer of molasses. Not enough yet, to be overly uncomfortable, but enough to feel something. Enough that the more powerful part of her was getting a little annoyed. Time to see if it affected telepathy as well.

It didn't.

For Angel the world spun into confusion. One moment she was blasting microwaves at Jean, and the next she was back in her room at the Massachusetts Academy on that night. She could feel the stickiness of Randall's blood, smell the slightly metallic twang, could his ragged breathing as he gasped out Frost's betrayal, and heard his death rattle.

There was a boom, and she came back to her self as she was falling.

Jean reached out and caught her telekinetically.

As Angel sat on the floor of the Danger Room, Jean looked at her, a worried expression on her face. "Angelica, are you okay? I'm sorry; I didn't realize the burst was that strong." The other woman looked off to the side of the Danger Room. "And Boomer, Tabitha's, joke didn't help."

"That was the sound?" Angel asked weakly. Her head was pounding.

"Yes. Scott's reaming her out now."

Angel rested her head on her knees, "She's . . . I don't . . . "

"She's always been a bad practical joker," Jean mused, sitting down next to Angel. "She's different."

"'Berto said the same thing a couple days ago."

"She's like she was when she first came here. It's like she's hiding something bad that happened to her," Jean replied. With her telepathy so strong, it would be an easy matter to pluck the information from Boomer's mind. Jean shook herself. She should not be thinking such things, but her increase in power kept tempting her to do things, especially after the confrontation with Frost. "That's an old memory to be so close to the surface," she said to Angel.

"I saw someone who looked like him. It brought everything back," Angel raised her head and glared at Tabitha, if she could only get Tabitha in the Danger Room for a full demonstration of microwaves.

"And that's why you haven't been sleeping well for the past couple days," Jean supplied and then quickly looked a little guilty. 'Sorry, but the telepathy picked it up. Have you told Sam about it?"

Angel shook her head, "Sam has enough on his plate right now. What with Jay." The newest addition to the school's student body was sullen and angry at the world. Angel's eyes looked at where an unrepentant Tabitha was listening to the end of Cyclops' lecture. "But I'm meeting Jupiter tonight for dinner and that always helps."

With a few last words to Tabitha, Cyclops walked over to them. "Ready to give it another try?"

"I think we should call it a day," Jean began. She hadn't meant to hit Angel so hard. What was happening with her power, she wondered.

But Angel shook her head, "I'm good. Let's go."

"You want me to scratch her eyes out, cause I will you know. I have no problem doing it. I've got long nails for a reason," Jupiter said as she and Angel sat at a table in the local streak house. "She sounds like a smutty, spoiled, sluttly, small brained, clingy, fake boobed bimbo." Jupiter lowered her voice to a whisper, "You should fry her. No jury would convict you."

"Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind," Angel replied.

"Well, there was this story a girl at work told me. Her friend found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her, so she took SuperGlue to his," Jupiter took a look around the streak house and noticed the family moving to the salad bar and the waitress arriving with their order. She opted for the polite word, "wee-wee" She frowned, "Though I don't see how that applies here."

Angel smiled as she cut into her steak, "I'll keep it in mind for future reference," she said with a bit of forced lightness to her voice.

Jupiter stopped and put down the rib she was about to raise to her mouth, "You don't honestly think. I mean, I know you have trust issues, and I can't blame you. So do I for that matter. But you can't honestly think. I mean, I've seen the way he looks at you."

Angel thought while she chewed her steak, "I know, but there is that small sliver of doubt, you know. She plays the helpless bimbo so perfectly, and their relationship lasted for awhile. And Sam likes to help people." She sighed. "And then I feel guilty because the last thing that Sam needs right now is a jealous girlfriend."

"You could lock her in the broom closest for a couple hours," Jupiter suggested. "Sometimes I think life would perfect if it wasn't for other people."

"Just stars, rainbows, and smiling suns?"

"And Victoria Secret," Jupiter added. "We'll pick out something nice. I've got to stop and pick up more chocolate body paint anyway."

"I need," Angel said as she cut off another piece of steak, "to buy stock in that company, considering how much you and Jimmy use."

"You and Sam should try it. Let him know what he's got."

Sam walked into the common room and slammed his book down on the table. His stupid, pig-headed brother. Jay's behavior would be a disruption to the other students when they returned from break in a couple days.

"What?!" someone shouted from the couch, and Tabitha sat up with a panicked look on her face. Her hair was still damp from a shower. She looked around the room, "Oh," she said, starting to calm down, "It's you."

Perhaps, Sam thought, it was time to find out where Rictor was and what had happened. At the very least, he needed to tell Tabitha that her behavior in the Danger Room earlier today was out of line. After Scott had told him about it, Sam realized owed Angel a wonderful night for her patience over the last couple days.

"Tabby," he began, taking a seat on the couch next to her, "What happened?"

She sighed and looked away for a moment, "I made a mistake, Sam. A stupid one."

"That's not what Ah meant," Sam responded. If she thought this was going to turn into a conversation about their relationship, she better start thinking otherwise. He was happy where he was.

She refused to meet his eyes, "Rictor wasn't what I thought he was, and we broke up." She forced some lightness into her tone. "That's it."

He didn't believe her. There was the desperate feel to some of her actions, her abundant showers, and the startled cry just now. "Tabby," he began. But then she kissed him, pressing her lips against his, moving her hands down his chest, her tongue against his mouth, her breasts pressing against him.

He felt nothing, except annoyance, and, perhaps, boredom.

"Tell me," Tabitha said, her lips hovering just above his, her voice deep and husky, "That you didn't feel something. That you don't still think about us. That you didn't miss your Tabby Cat."

He put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her away. "Tabby, if you need a friend, if you need help, Ah'll help you. Ah owe you that much. But," he continued firmly, "You should know, Ah didn't feel a thing."

"You can't be serious, Mason-Dixon," Tabitha leaned back, thrust out her chest a bit, and laid a hand on his inner thigh. "Your new girl can't . . ."

"Tabitha, whatever happened to you, you can tell me about." He reached out and gave her hand a gentle pat. Then he removed it from his thigh, "Ah'm just not interested any more. And Angel can." He got off the couch and picked up his book. "If you ever play another joke on her like the one you did this afternoon, Ah'll kick you off campus myself." He left the room without a backward glance.

Tabitha stared after him for a minute, pulled her knees up to her chin, and began to cry.

Angel walked quickly thought the main doors of the mansion, heading for the common room to see if Rogue and Logan were back yet. Rogue's test results hadn't been discouraging, but they hadn't been encouraging either. The combined minds of Professor Xavier and his friend, Dr. McCoy, and Jean didn't quite understand how Rogue's powers worked. They wanted to do more tests. Rogue said she was starting to get tired of being a guinea pig. Angel entered the common room and almost threw up. Hands clenched at her side, she spun on her heel and left before she gave into the urge to blast both Sam and Tabitha.

In her studio, Angel bent over her drafting table. The wall above it was festooned with pictures of barnyard fowl, references for the Andersen sketches she was working on. Be patient, he had told her, she thought angrily. Yeah right. Patient while he wooed the information out of Tabitha anyway possible.

A very small part of her pointed out that she was being a tad bit unjust. It had looked Tabitha was kissing Sam, not the other way around.

The rest of her told the small part to be quiet.

She really, really wanted to fry Tabitha.

She wanted to make hot, passionate love to Sam and yet she wanted to fry his ass.

The small part of her that was still being rational pointed out that with her mutant power she could actually do so.

She should have known better to trust him, she thought. Frost had taught her that much. People either betrayed her or they left.

Stop the pity party, the small part of her said, just be patient, hear his side of the story.

Yeah right, she focused once more on her drawing. She pressed down so hard that the pencil point snap. At the very least, she should calm down, she told herself. Right.

She was still bent over her table when Sam walked into the room. "Angie," he said reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. "Did you have good time out with Jupiter?"

"Yes," was her curt answer, and she shifted away from his touch and didn't look up from her work.

She was upset about something, Sam thought. Perhaps about what Tabitha had done in the Danger Room. Or, a thought niggled at the back of his mind, about that day at the museum, when she had been spooked. Jay's situation had pushed it to the back of his mind. He moved to the side of the drafting table. "Angelica, what's wrong?"

She still didn't look up from her work, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Confused, he said. "What would . . ."

"About Tabitha," she interrupted coolly.

Comprehension quickly dawned. Shit, Sam thought. "It wasn't what it looked like. She kissed me." Damn, that sounded weak even to him.

"Right. And her hands just ended up on your crotch!" Angel threw her pencil.

"If you had seen the whole thing . . . "

"What? I'm supposed to stay and watch? Make some popcorn and offer words of encouragement?" She didn't shout, but the tone in her voice was far from friendly. She got up from her seat and stalked away from him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're supposed to trust me," he replied, his own frustrations over the last couple days threatening to leak out.

"I did! Be patient, you said. I was patient when she hung all over you. When she knocked on the door late at night, every night. Barely dressed!" She began to number the times on her fingers. "When she invited herself along to the museum. When she had to watch _Persuasion _with us. I've been patient though her sniping and her inane practical jokes! I'm tired of being patient just so you can make your mind!" She spun away from him and stared angrily out the window with her hands clenched at her sides.

"Is that what you think this is about? That Ah don't know what Ah want?" He took a step in her direction. "You have nothing to be jealous abo . . ."

"You . . ."

"She kissed me," he tired again

"Right," Angel spat the word out with a great deal of scorn.

"Damn it, Angel! Ah'm not Frost! Ah'm not your father!" He ignored her attempts to shrug him off and turned her to face him. "Ah'm not going to betray you. Ah know how that feels," he finished softly. He cupped her face in his hands, making her look him in the eyes. "Ah'm not that stupid. Ah know a good thing when Ah see it." He kissed her and after a moment she kissed him back. He rested his forehead against hers, "Okay?" he asked quietly.

"Sorry," Angel whispered softly. "It's just that . . ."

"Ah know," he interrupted. "Trust me, Ah . . "

But she cut him off with a kiss, her hands coming up to his chest as she pushed him back onto the spare bed they had yet to move out of the second room.

"Did Ah see a Victoria Secret bag in the corner?" he asked as he landed.

"Later," Angel replied. As her fingers unbuttoned his shirt, her lips and tongue claimed his skin. She paused only along enough to tug off his pants and her clothes before continuing to claim to every inch of him.

"Was that make-up sex?" Sam asked as he lay on the bed with Angel resting on top of him. "Because if that was jealous sex, Ah'll . ."

He couldn't finish his sentence for Angel punched him in the ribs, "Don't even think it or I'll fry your . . ."

"That's not what you just said," he interjected. "And now you blush?" he said with a chuckle. "After that?"

"You seemed to enjoy it," she raised her hand to look at him.

"Ah did. That's why Ah . . ."

"You really do want me to fry your ass."

"Not exactly fry, no. When do Ah see what's in the bag?"

Before Angel could answer, there was a knock at the door of the bedroom. Sam felt Angel tense in his arms. Neither of them said anything, hoping that Tabitha didn't realize that they had two rooms. Sam pulled the comforter over them.

The knock was repeated, but this time at the other door. "Sam!" It was Tabitha.

Angel groaned. "Please, please let me fry her."

Sam shook his head. This was something he should deal with. He slid out of the bed and pulled on his jeans, went to the door and opened it.

Tabitha stood in the doorway. As she took in his rumpled hair and unbuttoned jeans, her lips flatten into an expression of distaste.

Sam leaned on the door, "Yes?"

"Sam, I was wondering if tomorrow you could help me put together a resume? I really should find a job," Tabitha said, her voice small and tight.

"Ah'll help you when Ah get back. Ah'm going out with Angel tomorrow," he said clearly. "Alone."

Tabitha nodded, "Good night."

Hoping it was a peace offering, Sam closed the door.

Angel propped herself up and looked at him. "We'll going out tomorrow? What about Jay?"

"Paige can play big sister. Warren can help her." Sam had been impressed by how helpful Warren had been with Jay. "We deserve a day out. Ah haven't been to a bookstore in . ..

"Two weeks."

He shot Angel an amused look, "Though Ah'm disappointed that my input wasn't sought before you went shopping."

"I don't think you'll be disappointed." Angel smiled wickedly.

Sam picked up the bag and looked inside, "Chocolate paint."

"Jupiter says it's fun."

"Let's see."

Outside, Tabitha walked down the hallway to her room. Once inside, she took out her cell phone and dialed. "Ric," she said softly. "They're going out tomorrow." She listened, "I don't know. He didn't say. Okay. Be careful." She closed the phone and threw it across the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: New Mutant Reunion Part 5

Author: Ethiercn

Rating: M

Characters used: Firestar, Cannonball, Marvel Boy, Rictor and the White Queen. Mention of Selene.

Disclaimer: I do not own them. I am making no profit.

Author's Note: Takes place the morning after Part 4.

"That's disgusting," Sam pronounced as he watched the footage of python regurgitating its meal of two bats. "And Ah hope the snake bites him," he finished referring to the man who had terrified the python into up chucking its meal. Angel nodded in agreement and moved to look at the cobra, one of the longest in the world according to the sign.

After a nice brunch, Angel and Sam had decided to spend part of the day at the zoo where rain had driven them inside the Reptile House. Sam stepped off to the side of the exhibit room to get a quick drink from the water fountain. He looked out the window. The rain seemed to be slowing and clearing up.

"I do have to admit that that red head of yours is a looker," a familiar voice said.

Sam turned. In the "No admittance, Staff only" doorway stood Rictor. His once long brown hair cut was short, but the mocking smile was still the same. "Rictor, what are you . . ."

Before he could get the sentence out, Rictor's vibrations knocked him into a wall.

"Sorry, Sam. But you're lucky it's me. Marvel Boy wanted to kill you."

Angel looked up from the cobra and slid her small sketch book back into her purse. She looked around. No doubt due to the weather, the zoo had been close to empty, and the reptile house looked deserted. She looked around for Sam. She didn't see him, but . . . Her green eyes widened in shock. The man who looked like Randall stood in the far end of the room. His eyes met hers for a split second before he turned the corner, heading into the next exhibit room. She almost took a step forward. It was better to get Sam. It could be that illusion throwing mutant from Hellfire. She turned just as the telekinetic force slammed her down onto the floor.

With a smirk, Vance Astrovik collared Angelica Jones.

"Do we take them back to New York?" Rictor asked as Vance with Angel slung over one shoulder, walked up to him.

"No," Vance replied. "Some place else."

With a groan, Sam woke, opened his eyes, and struggled into a sitting position. It took a minute for his brain to click into gear, but when it did, he stood and tried to fly, to blast his way out of the cell.

He fell to the floor. That had hurt.

"The collar works on pain," a voice said from outside of his cell. He pushed himself up and looked though the see though door. A blonde woman stood in front of the. Dressed entirely in white, she could be the poster girl for an S&M convention. Angel's description had been an apt one.

"You must be Frost," he replied. His fingers moved to his right arm as he noticed the bandage.

"I see my Angelica . . ."

"She's not your anything. Where . . ."

"She's yours, then?" Frost interjected with a mocking grin.

"She's her own," Sam replied.

"I see why Angelica . . ."

"Where is she?" Sam repeated angrily as he moved forward and placed his hands on the door.

"Selene's pet pervert has claimed her," Frost said with a moue of distaste. Her cold, blue eyes watched him.

"Let me out," Sam said quietly, forcefully, "Now."

Frost raised a pale eyebrow, "You are no position to make demands. Selene holds power here, after what your compatriot did to me," there was a great deal of hatred in that phrase. "I am ordered to scan your mind for memories of your father and mother. Your family is unique."

Deciding to worry about that later, Sam pushed against the door, "Let me out. You can't want that bastard to have Angel."

"I am hoping that Angelica will deal with him herself," she turned to the muscular man who stood behind her. "Just as I am certain we will get better acquainted. Bring him."

The door to the cell was opened, and Muscles walked in. He caught Sam's punch easily, pulled Sam's arm out to the side, and punched him in the stomach. "It's easier not to fight," the man said before shoving him out of the cell.

"Angelica, wake up," a voice said softly. There was a light, gentle touch on her cheek. "Come on, beautiful," the voice continued. "Wake up." She felt the hands move down her body, gently stroking her breasts though her shirt. Then the hand slapped her. "I said wake up."

She woke. She was chained, her arms slightly stretched out to the sides and raised up, her feet barely touching the ground. A man with brown hair and blue eyes stood before her. "Where?" she mumbled. She remembered the zoo, but where was Sam?

"My rooms," the man replied. "Your lover is elsewhere."

"Let me go," she said calmly, trying to buy time to allow her brain to play catch up.

"I don't think so. I've waited too long, you see," he smiled a dark, cruel grin. "You must remember me."

She looked closer, studying him. The metaphorical light bulb came on as she remembered. "You ... That night of the dance."

"Your first kiss," he finished for her, sounding pleased. "How was it?"

"Slobbery."

He laughed, "And you hayseed is better? I find that hard to believe." He grabbed her chin. His eyes scanned her face as he said, "If I had known you had such spirit, we would've gotten better acquainted then. Now, we'll have to make up for lost time."

She screamed in pain as she tried to use her power. "You should know that I increased the pain factor on the collar," he said conversationally. "In recognition of your power." He reached out with his hands and cupped her breasts. "Say my name like you say his," he whispered before he kissed her, forcing her lips apart, sliding his tongue into her mouth, while his hands twisted her breasts.

She bit him.

She drew blood.

He stopped kissing her, let go of her breast and backed off a little. He raised his hand to his lip, tentatively touching the area. He chuckled. Then he swiftly reached out with his power, the force of his telekinetic power slammed into her. She jerked in the restraints.

"You are going to be so much fun. I haven't had anyone with such spirit in awhile. The last was so disappointing." He moved away and watched her as she took in the furnishings of his room. The bed, the implements on the wall, and her position, chained in the center. She tugged at the chains. "Your first lesson," he continued. "Will be how to say my name. It's Vance, in case you forgot."

She looked at him with disgust, "I did."

He smiled. He moved towards her again. She tried to kick him, something that was impossible to do because of how she was restrained. He effortlessly caught her leg and slid his hand up it as she tried to jerk away. "Say my name," he repeated.

She didn't say anything but just watched him. There was not enough fear in those green eyes for his liking. The telekinetic force he wielded ripped off her shirt and her bra. He eyed her naked chest, "Magnificent." He reached out with his hand. When she flinched and tried to move away, he smiled. She couldn't move far, and his hand stroked a breast. "You do have the softest skin," he murmured. His hands stroked, his thumb rubbing a nipple.

"Stop," she hissed.

He tightened his grip, his hands digging painfully into her flesh so suddenly that she grasped in pain. "When your lover, the Kentucky hick," he asked watching her face," touches you here, does it bring your pleasure? Does he use his hands? His mouth? Tongue? Teeth?" He licked at her breast, enjoying the trembling of revulsion his touch caused. He slid a hand down her chest, down her smooth stomach, finally stopping at the waist of her skirt. He looked at her face. Her eyes were averted; she was biting her lip, refusing to cry out. He could feel her trembling. He unbuttoned her skirt. "When he enters you, do you scream his name or moan it?" he asked softly. "Say my name," he repeated. He bit at her breast, moved his hand lower, and smiled as she screamed when she tried to access her power to stop him.

"Say my name and I'll stop," he lied.

"Okay," she conceded, bowing her head in defeat. He smiled, and leaned his ear in close. "Scum bag, "she whispered before she clamped her teeth around his ear and bit down hard.

He let out a yelp before regaining the presence of mind to lash out with his power. "Bitch," he yelled when he was free. He struck her with his fist. He removed a whip from the wall, and struck her with it. She jerked in shock but didn't say anything. If she wasn't going to say his name, he thought, she would scream for him to stop. He struck her again. Then again. Again. She bit her lips until they bled before she screamed.

It was a small victory that she did not say his name.

He finally stopped. Selene want her broken but alive. Her back was marked with streaks of blood from the lash. She was grasping, crying but not loudly. With his mind, he undid the restraints and she dropped to the floor. He watched for a few moments as she tried to push herself up. He knelt next to her, running his hand though her red hair, "Say my name and you can rest," he said softly.

"Asshole," she said though her bloodied lips.

"I knew you would be fun," he whispered before twisting her hair in his hand, starting to move away, half dragging her after him. He threw her against the bed, enjoying her cry of pain as her back stuck the bed. She tried to raise herself, but from the beating he had given her, she couldn't. He knelt down next to her, raising her to a sitting position, and gently stroked her cheek. "I don't want to hurt you, but you must learn. Just say my name. That's it. Not too hard is it?" She tried to move away from him, but he grabbed her arm and dragged her back, throwing her onto the bed. His hands once again grasped and twisted her breasts. His power ripped off her skirt. "If you don't say me name now, you'll scream it when I fuc . .. " He stopped. Interesting, none of the others had done that. Surely, she knew she would not be able to access her power.

She convulsed in pain as she tried to access her power.

He backed off. She lay panting on the bed, watching him. He reached for her again. She convulsed again.

He understood now. She was using the collar against him. A telekinetic burst knocked her out. He moved off to the head of the bed, a slight smile on his lips. He did like a challenge. He got some rope.

He looked at her as she lay on the bed. She rested on her side, one arm across her chest as if even in an unconscious state she was still trying to preserve her modesty. He felt himself getting harder as he toyed with various scenarios, deciding finally that he wanted her to know what was happening. He rolled her onto her back and tied her arms to the head of the bed and her legs to the foot. There, he thought, let her try to convulse now. He also lowered the pain output on the restraint to normal. He stripped.

She woke with a low moan. Within seconds, she struggled against the bonds, then tried to use her power, anything to stop him. He leaned over her, his power turning her face to him and keeping her eyes open. "Say me name," he demanded. "Scream it." He kissed her, his hands laying claim to her body, and forcing his tongue into her mouth. She thrashed under him. He positioned, postponing the moment for one second more. "Scream my name," he said looking into her face and then stopped in uncertainty.

Her eyes glowed.

Impossible he thought as the blast stuck him.


	6. Chapter 6

1Title: New Mutant Reunion Part 6

Rating M

Characters used: Firestar, Cannonball, Marvel Boy, White Queen, Sunspot, Husk, Boomer (Meltdown), Rictor, and Warpath. Mention of Selene and Cyclops.

Disclaimer: Don't own them and I am making no profit from this.

Author's Note: Starts after Part 5

Whistling a happy tune, Roberto walked down the hall to his room. Isolde was in town, and he had a night of dancing and other pleasant things to look forward to. Then in two days, Marisa would be back from her shoot in Turin.

He did a couple of impromptu dance steps as he made his way down the hall.

"What did you do?!" Paige shouted. The demand had come from Tabitha's room. 'Berto hurried down the hallway. Cowering in a corner of the room, Tabitha stared at a furious flint skinned Paige, who stood nearby, in the middle of the little seen Guthrie rage.

"Paige, I didn't . . ." Tabitha began and then stopped when she saw Roberto in the doorway.

Paige looked around and saw him as well. "She was talking to Rictor," the young woman raged. "Asking him about Sam!" She turned back to Tabitha and took a threatening step forward.

"Tabitha,"Roberto said, his eyes going dark as he called up his own mutant power. "What is going on?"

Clearly nervous, Tabitha licked her lips and looked around the room for an escape. There wasn't one. "I didn't mean to . . . I didn't want to. ... "

"Out with it!" 'Berto barked.

"They wanted to know where Sam was going . . . "Tabitha began.

Roberto reached out and quickly halted Paige who had rushed forward. "They who?"

"Selene and her people," Tabitha couldn't finish for Paige had yanked herself out of Roberto's grip and threw herself at Tabitha. "You bitch!" the young mutant shouted. She got in a couple of punches before Roberto, shouting for Cyclops, was able to pull her off.

Head bowed, Sam took several deep breaths. It felt like his head was splitting in two, but he would be damned if he gave the woman access to the memories of his parents. He focused on the painting that hung on the wall behind the desk. Angel's work. When he had first seen it, he had been disturbed at the thought of the White Queen having it, but now it helped. He could imagine he was there.

"I must admit I did not except such resistance," the White Queen said as she moved to stand in front of him. "Though I find your opinion of me to be highly unflattering."

"If it disturbs you that much, you can stop, "Sam said weakly. There had to be a way out of this; he just had to find it. Muscles chuckled.

She smiled at him, "Hardly. It really is a matter of time. It would be easier to give in." She leaned back on her desk and studied him. "Perhaps I'll try for your thoughts of Angelica first." She looked back at the painting, "She is such a talented artist. I've reserved a copy of the book she illustrated."

She's just trying to get your goat, Sam told himself.

The lights flickered, went out, and then, with a hum, came back on.

The predatory laziness of the White Queen disappeared entirely and was replaced with a thoughtful look that quickly morphed into an expression that mirrored Jean's telepathic face. Sam heard Muscles shifted from foot to foot.

The White Queen's expression changed again. She now looked like the cat that had gotten into the cream. "It worked."

"What worked?" Sam asked.

The White Queen ignored him and spoke directly to Muscles, "James, send someone to check on Marvel Boy's condition. But take your time. Contain Firestar as well."

"What worked?" Sam repeated, growing worried.

The White Queen finally looked at him, "My plan to use Firestar to weaken Selene's control over the Hellfire Club."

Angelica pushed herself off the ruins of the bed and collapsed onto the floor. She didn't want to look at the charred ruin of the man who lay on the foot of the bed. She wondered if he was still alive, and was somewhat shocked that she didn't care. The smell of the burnt flesh made her want to gag. She hurt. Her back throbbed. What It had almost done . . . .

She couldn't stop herself from retching.

Shaking, she looked around the room. She wanted a bath. She wanted to scour her skin clean. She wanted to feel Sam's arms around her.

She needed to find Sam.

To do that, she needed clothes. She looked around. Her clothes were unusable. It had destroyed them. She pulled herself over to a pile of clothes and pulled out a pair of sweats with shaking hands. She would burn them when she got back to the mansion but for now they were all she had.

One step at a time, she thought as she struggled into them.

God, her back hurt.

Get dressed, check, she thought. Finding Sam was the next step. If they had hurt him, she would tear this place apart, wherever this place was. Then she could find about Randall.

She opened the door slowly, and looked down the hallway. It seemed like a home, and not a building at the Academy, for the hallway was a short one, and there were no sounds of students. A door to a bedroom was open on the other side of the hallway. The hallway ended in a staircase. As she moved forward, hovering slightly above the floor, the use of her power dulling the pain somewhat, she saw shadows moving up the wall of the staircase and heard the sound of footsteps. She moved back down the hallway, going into the other room, and leaving the door slight ajar.

Four men walked down the hallway. Two were guards. The other two were not. Mutants perhaps, she thought. The muscular one looked familiar

"Do we really have to go into his room?" one man with a trace of a Mexican accent asked.

The second man replied, "Unfortunately, yes." Now she remembered, James, the only kind student at the Academy. "You didn't eat recently, Rictor, did you?" he finished. The two left the guards outside as they entered Its room.

Rictor, Angelica thought, wasn't that the name of Tabitha's friend? What was he doing here? She waited a few minutes, watching as one guard was sent away, and returned with stretcher. Watched as two of the guards carried the covered It away. Waited for the other two to make their way out into the hallway. When James reached out a hand to open the door to the room she was in, she quickly melted the floor underneath him. With a shout, the mutant fell down into the floor below with a heavy crash. Rictor tried to do something, for she felt the air around her vibrate. She fired blast close to his feet, and he stumbled back into Its room. He tried again, pointing his hands out her, but her blasts came coming in too fast and too close. He dashed into the attached bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Like that was going to stop her.

One blast took out the door. The second melted the sink. "Where's Sam?" she demanded. "Where's Randall?"

"I don't know Randall," Rictor wailed as he cowered in the bathtub.

She melted the toilet.

Rictor gulped, "The White Queen has Sam."

She moved in close, close enough so he could feel how hot she could make the air, "Where?"

"In the basement, where her office is. I can show you."

"If you try anything, I'll turn you into ash."

"I won't."

"Your plan?" Sam asked as he watched the White Queen. Muscles had left. Perhaps he could do something now.

For a moment it looked as if the White Queen would ignore him, but then she said, "Consider Firestar's power, the destructive potential she contains. She's too soft hearted, too naïve, too "principled" to use it fully,"

"That's strength," Sam said quietly.

"Weakness," the White Queen countered, "She has the power; she should use it. What would happen if someone pushed her, however? If it was destruction or death or the death of a loved one."

"Or rape?" Sam asked coldly. "And you say, she's your Angelica."

"The risk to her was minimal and should she have . . ."

Full of anger, Sam pushed though the pain and focused his blast field outward, directly solely at the White Queen. The blast pushed her into the wall, knocking her against the painting, before she could do anything telepathically. She slid to the floor unconscious.

For a few moments the only thing Sam could do was kneel on the floor. Finally, he was able to force himself up. That had hurt. He walked over to the White Queen and looked down at the woman. She lay crumpled on the floor, a small cut from the picture frame on her cheek.

He twisted his neck and explored the collar with his fingers. There was some kind of key pad on it; no lock, so he wouldn't be able to get it off. Not that he was going to let it stop him from finding Angel.

If that bastard had hurt her, Sam would kill him.

He moved quickly to the door and was about to open it, when the door knob turned. "He's in here," he heard Rictor say.

The door opened, and before Rictor could get both feet inside of the room, Sam grabbed him and threw him to the floor. "Wait!" Rictor said, but it was Angel's command of "Sam, wait," that stopped the punch he was about to throw. "We need him to get your collar off," she finished as she shut the door behind her. "Then you can beat him up."

Still keeping hold of Rictor, Sam asked, "Are you okay." She looked like hell.

"I'll live. You?" Her eyes studied him.

"The same."

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Rictor said from his position on the floor.

""Shut-up," Sam snarled. "Marvel Boy?" he asked Angel. The man had hurt her, Sam could tell.

"He ...He tried and I . . ." Angel faltered, "Let Rictor take your collar off."

Rictor offered Sam a shaky smile. "It's not what it looks like, Sam."

"Take this off now," Sam backed off to allow Rictor to stand and remove the collar. Angel took it from him and walked over to the White Queen. She slipped the collar on the other woman, and then for a moment studied the painting on the wall. What was the witch doing with one of her pieces?

"Angel," Sam began as he caught sight of the blood stains on the back of the sweatshirt, "Your back . . ."

"I'll live." The tone of her voice said not here, not now.

Sam turned back to Rictor and pushed him back into the wall, "Why?"

"I wanted to take down the Hellfire Club," Rictor replied.

"And so you gave us up? You turned Angel over to that bastard?" Sam hands grabbed Rictor's shirt, twisting the material

Rictor winced, "Sam, believe me, if I had known. After what he almost did to Tabitha, there was no way . . ." Rictor stopped when he saw their disbelieving looks.

"Tabitha? She's involved?" Sam demanded.

"She wanted to help. But then here . . I had to get her out, and Selene wanted a spy at the school so . . "

"You scarified the rest of us," Sam let go of Rictor in disgust.

"It wasn't like that. I was going to get both of you out!"

"When? After the pervert was finished with Angel? When the White Queen turned me into a vegetable?" Sam shouted into Rictor's face.

"What did the White Queen want with Sam?" Angel asked moving closer to the two men but keeping one eye on her still unconscious former teacher.

"Not her," Rictor replied looking slightly relieved at the interruption. Selene wanted him because of his family, genetic testing or something."

"You brought my family into it?" Sam raged grabbing Rictor again.

"They killed my uncle!" the flash of anger from Rictor got Sam to back off a little. "I want them stopped. This is the only way."

"A trade off," Sam spat out in disgust.

"Sam," Angel said softly. "Quietly." One of her arms became encased with flame. Rictor gulped.

There was the sound of feet and then a knock on the door. "Yes?" Rictor asked.

"Is everything okay in there, sir?" said a voice.

"Yes," Rictor replied. "I'm just keeping an eye on the prisoner. Find the other one quickly or the White Queen will be severely displeased."

"Yes, sir," there was a sound of feet moving away.

"We should go soon," Angel said eyeing the White Queen who was beginning to come to.. It was strange to see her again.

"She's right," Rictor said. "And you're in New Hampshire, at a vacation home, before you ask." He removed something from his pocket and tossed it to Sam. "The sample they took from you." Sam caught and tossed it to Angel who vaporized it. "Look on the bright side," Rictor continued with forced cheer, "You get to hit me."

Sam gave a Rictor a look and seemed about to argue. He then hit Rictor, hard enough to knock the man to the ground. "What you do is your business, but leave us out of it." Sam softened a little, "Tabitha's okay and there's a place at the mansion for you when you need it." The last came out grudgingly. "But don't think I've forgiven you."

Rictor nodded.

The White Queen groaned and opened her eyes. Her eyes met Angel's, "It is a pleasure to see again Angelica."

"Randall," Angel question as her eyes glowed dangerously.

"Still dead, child," The White Queen pushed herself up into a sitting a position. "The other was a well placed decoy."

"Can you fly?" Sam asked Angel as he touched her lightly on the arm, moving her away from The White Queen.

She nodded.

"Take me with you," Frost interjected.

"You have to be kidding," Angel scoffed. "Save you of all people."

"I can tell you all of Selene and Magneto's plans." Frost looked at Angel.

Angel snorted. "We can't trust her. Why would she tell us anything?"

"Because my life won't be worth much if I stay here," Frost said, speaking to Sam. "Not even Shaw can protect me after I "let" you escape. Despite the fact that you dealt with Selene's lieutenant, child," this last was directed to Angel, who took a step forward.

"She's right," Rictor mumbled around his swelling lip.

Sam and Angel shared a look. It wasn't a long look, but it conveyed everything, the positives and negatives, the risks of taking Frost, the acknowledgement that perhaps it was the best way.

Angel turned and knelt in front of the White Queen, "You even speak to a student, and you will lack a face. Understand?"

Frost nodded, "The collar?"

"You must be joking," Sam said, pulling the White Queen up. Grasping her about the waist, he continued, "If you try anything while we'll in flight . . ."

"You'll drop me, and I will die," the White Queen finished. "I am not that foolish."

"Good," Sam replied. "Though I might drop you anyway." With a last glare at Rictor, he followed Firestar as she blasted her way out of the house.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: New Mutant Reunion Part 7/7

Author: Ethiercn

Rating: T

Characters used: Firestar, Cannonball, Jean Grey, Husk, Boomer (Meltdown), Sunspot, and mention of various others.

Disclaimer: I don't own them; Marvel does. I am not making any profit off of this.

Author's Note: Starts after Part 6. Sorry about the open ending, but I will tie up lose ends in the next story or two (and sorry about the weak ending). I'm not entirely sure if Jean could do what she does, but considering what she did in_ X3_, I thought it would be possible. "The Cloak" is the story read at the end. Publication information for it is : Dinesan, Isak. "The Cloak". _Last Tales_. NY: Random House, 1957. 27-44. The sentences are taken from page 29.

"There," Jean said as she pointed though the front window of the Blackbird. Cyclops looked up and saw Firestar's unique power signature. She was followed by Cannonball. Two other mutants, both fliers, quickly closed on the fleeing pair. As Storm lowered the Blackbird, she raised fog to cover their descent. Jean reached telepathically, letting the other two X-Men know help had arrived.

"Come on," Wolverine grumbled from his position behind Storm, "Let's have a fight."

Firestar's power sliced though the fog as she fired off a blast at one of the trailing mutants. The flier was coming in too quickly to dodge the blast and tumbled from the air. For a second, the second mutant, the air controller, paused and then with an almost lazy gesture conjured a gust of air to slow the other man's descent. His distraction allowed Cannonball to circle around and come in with a punch. Jean's telekinesis slowed the mutant's wild fall.

"This would have been easier if you had allowed me use of my telepathy," The White Queen sniffed.

"Shut up," both Firestar and Cannonball replied as they flew over to the Blackbird.

"Maybe I should drop her," Cannonball suggested as they hovered outside the door to the plane.

"I wouldn't stop you."

Finally, Wolverine, with a disappointed expression on his face, popped open the door, allowing first Angel and then Sam into the jet.

"What's she doing here?" Wolverine snarled as he caught sight of the White Queen as Sam unceremoniously dumped her into a seat.

Frost looked around the Blackbird with an expression of distaste, "He does wash, doesn't he?" she asked no one in particular.

"Let's throw her out," Wolverine said to Cyclops, who ignored him. Making sure that Sam and Angel were belted in, Storm turned the Blackbird for home.

While Xavier, Cyclops, and Storm dealt with Frost, Angel sat in the infirmary's bathroom. Jean started running the bath and then moved to stand behind Angel. The psionic took a pair of scissors and began to cut the sweatshirt away from Angel's back. "Did he rape you?" she asked Angel.

"He tried, and then I . . . "Angel didn't want to think about the ramifications of that, whether she had killed him and whether it made her what Frost desired her to be. She looked at the door to the bathroom. Sam was on the other side being tended to by Beast, and every so often they could hear Beast's increasing exasperated command of "hold still." Suddenly feeling cold, she shivered.

Jean dropped the pieces of sweatshirt on the floor. She frowned as she studied Angel's back and then glanced at the bandages. No one, she thought, she should have to live with such scars. "This might hurt," she said softly as she reached with her telekinesis.

It felt as if someone was tugging on the tender flesh of her back, and Angel clenched her teeth. If she cried out, Sam would hear and come in. He needed to be checked out by Beast. She knew what the White Queen could do to a person. She struggled to hold herself still.

"It shouldn't scar," Jean finally said. Her telekinesis had performed the function of stitches, of, perhaps, a surgeon. Impressed with her own handy work, Jean looked over the various bruises that Angel sported. "Though it will still hurt. You'll be on bed rest for awhile."

Angel nodded. She would agree to anything if it got it her into the bath. She just wanted to feel clean again. She burnt the pants off and used her power to turn the clothes to ash before she sank gratefully into the water.

Jean watched as Angel grabbed the soap and washcloth, and began to scrub her skin. It wasn't right, Jean thought. Not right at all. "I can take the memories from your mind," she offered before she even realized she was thinking it.

Angel stopped scrubbing and looked at Jean. For half a second, she was tempted. To forgot everything, to not have the events in her mind. But no, that was not the way. Frost had manipulated her mind enough, and if the solution to life was to back out the bad and leave only the good, where that would leave her? "No," she replied. The answer came out firmly.

Shocked at her own offer, and even more shocked by the insight that she could actually do it, Jean nodded and then reached for the shampoo.

"Angel?" Sam called out as he wrenched himself out of his dream and raised himself up slightly. He blinked his eyes, getting use to the darkness. He could see the clock radio and Pumpkin's eyes staring at him from the foot of the bed, it felt like his bed at the mansion, which hopefully meant that his dream of the two of them still imprisoned by the White Queen was a dream.

"Here," Angel replied, her hand squeezing his. "I've been using you as a pillow."

He relaxed. He glanced at the clock. He hadn't been asleep that long, maybe a couple of hours at the most. For a few minutes, he listened to the comforting night time sounds of the mansion. Both Hank and Jean had disapproved when he and Angel had refused to stay in the infirmary, with the White Queen being held in an impromptu cell nearby, neither of them had wanted to be that close to the woman. "Did you get some sleep?" he asked Angel, putting his arms gently, almost tentatively, around her.

"No, not really," she replied, pressing closer to him, simply being near him while he slept, and lying in the shadow of his strength helped. Sleep would come eventually, she knew.

"Do you want to tell me what he did to you?" he asked quietly. He wasn't sure how to bring the topic up, but he wanted to know. He had to know, if only so that he didn't say or do anything that would remind her.

"Not here," she said after a few moments. "Not while we are here in bed. It would be . . . wrong." She closed her eyes to block out the sound of Its voice asking, do you scream his name or moan it. "And it wasn't what he did," she continued after she had taken a shaky breath. "That was bad. It was . . . but it's also what I did. I'm sure he's dead from the way they took him out of the room. And Frost, what Frost trained me to be; it's almost like," she raised her head to look at him, her green eyes studying his blue ones almost fearfully, "things are coming full circle."

"Defending yourself doesn't make you Frost's assassin. You're not a killer. You're not cold. Don't ever doubt that." His lips gently brushed her cheeks, tasting the salt of her tears, before he lightly brushed her lips with his. "I'm going to be over protective again," he whispered.

"I'm going to be a bit clingy," Angel whispered back before laying her head down on his chest. "Could we stay just like this tomorrow?"

"I think Hank and Jean would kill us if we didn't," Sam replied as he held her as close as he could, one hand stroking her hair.

Hours later, the knock on the door woke both of them. "Sam," Paige called from the other side. "Professor Grey says you both have to eat or," there was a consultation of whispers before she finished with the overused, if highly effective, threat of the Guthrie clan, "I'll tell Ma."

As Paige and Jay brought in the food, Sam slid out of the bed, and before Angel could protest, picked her up and carried her over to the table. "I told you I was going to be over protective," he said as he set her down in a chair and then took a seat next to her.

Paige and Jay stayed with them while they ate. Both younger Guthries would glare if it looked like either of the two older people was not eating enough.

"What is she doing here?" Paige hissed as she looked up from playing with Pumpkin and saw Tabitha and Roberto standing in the doorway. Looking haggard, Tabitha recoiled at the hiss, and 'Berto shrugged at Sam.

"Paige could you and Jay takes the trays downstairs?" Sam asked as he glared at Tabitha.

"But . . . "

"Now!" Sam said in his best imitation of his mother's voice.

Paige and Jay gathered up the trays, and with looks of pure venom at Tabitha, left.

Roberto was the first to enter the room, and Tabitha only came in just a foot or so, hovering near the door, not quite sure of her welcome.

"She wanted to talk to you," 'Berto said gesturing towards Tabitha.

"Maybe . . . "Sam began with some heat in his voice.

"Don't you remember what Rictor said?" Angel interrupted as she got off her chair. While Angel doubted that she could ever forgive the woman for handing Sam over to the White Queen, if she had been in Tabitha's shoes, would she have done anything differently? Angel didn't know. She didn't want to be friends with the blonde, but Tabitha should at least know about Rictor.

Tabitha looked like she wanted to bolt, unsure and wary of what Angel was going to do. "Rictor's okay," Angel said softly.

With a great gasp, Tabitha broke down into tears. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, throwing her arms around Angel, whose gasp of pain drew Sam to his feet. "I'm sorry," Tabitha repeated as she let go of Angel.

"'Berto," Sam said as he guided Angel back towards the bed, "We should get some rest."

'Berto met Sam's eyes and nodded, then he and Tabitha left.

Two weeks later, Jean sat on the couch with Scott in the common room as they watched _C.S.I. _ Phone to his ear, Roberto sat in a corner chair and talked to one of his models. "But Marisa, it's not like that," 'Berto pleaded as he looked out the window and watched Tabitha leave for a walk.

"The one who suspected it was the woman, Lucrezia," Sam read softly as he sat on the other couch, Angel leaning against him. One of his hands held the book, the other entwined with one of Angel's hands; her other hand rested lightly on his thigh. "And through it she suspected-at the same time with a kind of dismay and giddiness-the hardness and coldness which may be found in the hearts of men and artists, even with regard to the ones whom these hearts do embrace with deepest tenderness."

The couple was recovering well, Jean thought. In the days since the abduction, the two had been close to inseparable. While they were no longer, clinging as close, there would be little touches and glances, and the desire to sit close to each other. During the forced idleness, Angel had started to research her mother, trying to find more about the woman she couldn't remember. Perhaps, Jean thought, the desire was a reaction to the closeness of the Guthrie clan, or a reaction to seeing the White Queen, a de facto mother figure, again.

Jean frowned. The White Queen was a problem, almost the serpent in Jean's Garden of Eden. She kept demanding. Demanding to see Angel, who refused; demanding to be let out of her rooms, demanding to see the grounds. From the woman's snide comments, Jean knew that she hadn't told them everything like whether Marvel Boy was dead. And yet the Xavier was thinking of letting her go. Jean agreed with Logan. There was no way that the White Queen should be allowed to leave the mansion with all her faculties intact. Any woman who would set up another woman to be raped, Jean thought, was pure evil. And Jean suspected that the White Queen was far more evil than that.

Jean knew that it would be a simple matter for her to pluck the information from Frost's mind and then render that mind unusable.

Each day, it was getting harder not to give in to that knowledge.


End file.
